Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1887-06-04
ROSE CULTURE.
HOW TO SECURE THEIR GREAT.
EST PERFECTION.
Suggestions as to Varieties-The
Proper Method Of Planting and
Their Subsequent Care.

tcle is only intended for those who love
their flowers, and, loving them, have pa
tience to give them care. Roses, like chill
dren: cannot be put off with a slight
amount of attention once in q while, but
need constant daily watching and over
seeing to insure fine blooms and healthy
plants. Everybody admires flowers few
love them we'll enough to do the work
necessary to produce them, and great
many who say How do love roses p do
not love the care necessary to grow them.
There are great many, too, who say to
me, How beautifully your roses bloom.
How do you get such fine, large ones? l
am always fussing over mine, yet they
come small and imperfect" It is those
who are willing TO fuss all the time" but
who, through ignorance of what is needed.
fail to make their roses do well, to whom |
write. There are few kinds which seem
TO grow vigorously or bloom through every
sort of disadvantage in the shape of poor
soil and neglect, but they are few. As
rule, roses will not do well unless thor
oughly cultivated, judiciously watered and
carefully watched to prevent attacks from
PLANTING.
If you are about to plant roses, be care
full to dig the soil deep and thoroughly soft
before putting them in then give them a
thorough soaking so that the ground is
saturated for foot deep. Then cover with
dry ealth to keep the ground from
packing in the hot sun. 1t is best to do
your planting at night in order to give the
plants the long, cool hours i'll which TO re-
viye. The same rule holds good in water
ing; always. if possible, water at night, as
when done in the day time the sun
packs the earth around the plants, often so
hard as to make the task of softening il no
small one. Besides this, if the plant is
small, in trying TO break up the caked sur
face the roots are very often disturbed, re-
tarding the growth, if not killing the plant.
A great many hold, too. that the chill OF
the cold water on the plant, which is
heated by the sun, has damaging effect,
though of this l am not so sure
WATERING.
Do not sprinkle your plants with mere
spray from a rose nozzle-that is time
wasted. Give them a thorough soaking
down once a week, il does them more good
than dozen sprinklings. If you have
young rose plants come by mail soak them
in lukewarm water for a short time before
planting, soften and wet down the earth
well, and shade them for a few DAYS
Water freely for short time, but do not
keep them muddy. After their roots have
taken a hold in the ground, save all the
tea and coffee left in the table urns, all the
grounds left in the cups, even the children's
white tea" added helps, and put around
them. l have found this the most delicate
fertilizer for tender roses of anything have
tried. Little plants on which it is used, if
they are not kept too wet, will bud out and
grow amazingly in few weeks. For older
and stronger plants use soapsuds. If you
have your washing done at home, keep all
the washing suds and soapy water for
them. Instead of throwing out your greasy
dish-water, take it out and put it around
your roses. The grease and dirt only add
to the value and do no harm. The trouble
is slight in comparison with the benefit to
the plants, for soapsuds seem to contain
the very essence of roses, so to speak, and
the increase of brilliancy in foliage and
flower, the rankness of growth and profu-
sion of bloom. will quickly convince you of
the truth of the statement if you will try it.
Wood ashes and pounded charcoal are also
excellent if dug IN around their roots, but
care must be taken that the ashes are not
too fresh, or they will burn the plants,
making the leaves shrivel and dry on the
edges and the buds come imperfect.
PRUNING.
Prune vigorously, and never be afraid Of
hurting a rose by too much cutting. You
maySut ii so close that it will take good
while for il to come into bloom again, but
when it does it will astonish you by the
profusion and persistence of its flower
buds. Not only does cutting back throw
the strength into the remaining shoots,
but it forces the plant to rest for time
from the exhausting process of Towering.
In a small garden where there are but few
bushes, il is advisable to thin out all the
old wood every fall Though in addition to
this l should advise frequent cutting at
the tips as well), but in a large place,
where the number of roses is too great to
admit of this, severe cutting back on all
sides with pair of garden shears does
quite well enough. This is the method,
understand, which is pursued at Mountain
View Cemetery, the vast number of plants
precluding the possibility of much indi-
vidual attention.
would especially impress on amateurs
the necessity for this severe cutting back
every few months Without it your roses
will give you but few or poor blooms. If
bush has blossomed steadily for good
while and begins to give imperfect or small
and scattering buds, take the shears and
clip-of the ends of the shoots for some six
or eight inches. This will rest and
strengthen it for fresh efforts in a short
time. If your yard is very small and you
need to crowd your plants, ii may, perhaps,
be better to trim them to q tree shape with
a single stalk, but where you have plenty
of room it is preferable to let them grow
bushy and thick, as it saves stalking and
they are more apt to be thrifty and vigor-
Gus.
FERTILIZATION AND CARE.
Sometimes a rosebush will seem to be
healthy, and yet keep putting out blighted
flowers, which rot before they are fully
open. 1t is not always possible to tell what
is the matter, and therefore the only thing
to do is to have patience and keep trying
different remedies. AS general rule how
ever healthy they may appear, there is
some defect, for healthy bushes should
produce perfect flowers. Cultivate thor
oughly, give them good wetting-down at
intervals, put little well-rotted manure
around them if you have it, prune I'M
sparingly. and wait. When it gets into a
healthy condition the bush will bloom in
an orthodox fashion, and not before Some
varieties of roses, too, do not bloom per-
fectly until they attain certain maturity,
therefore If a bush absolutely refuses to
give good results after careful attention
paid 1t for some time. do not destroy it, for
it may, if you persist in your attention, all
at once astonish you by lovely blooms
Another thing essential to the production
of fine roses is the removal of all dead or
dying ones as they appear. 1t is not ne
cesssry to set apart certain day on which
TO spend hours for this purpose, but when
walking among your bushes or picking
from them, get into habit of pulling off
the wiited flowers and half-formed seed
pods SIS you see them. The process OF
forming seeds is a very exhausting one,
and should be prevented as much as pcs
sible.
INSECTS ANB DISEASES.
There are many insect enemies of the
rose. all of which will generally yield easily
10 the right treatment if persisted in.
Sometimes the young shoots will be per-
fecily swarming with the small green aphis,
causing great alarm in the inexperienced
breast. though in reality doing no great
harm. These may be gotten rid of by
Swinging with water in which little
whale-ei soap has been dissolved, or lack
ing this, strong sospsuds will do very well.
If very strong, the plant should be rinsed
with clear water. Slugs may be done away
with by the same remedies if thoroughly
applied. TIE red spider often attacks roses